Birth registration, Solomon Islands

This project aims to increase formal birth registrations, so demographic information can be used when planning healthcare, education and other services. Official registration establishes a child’s existence under the law and protects their right to identity and existence. Birth registration for children under five in the Solomon Islands is estimated to be the lowest in the Pacific, with approximately just 0.1% of all births formally recognized. The old system relied on an out-dated civil registration model, challenging in an area where 80% of the population live in remote isolated island communities. The new programme aims to amend the legal requirements around registration, research the opportunities for community nurses to register births using mobile phones, and raise public awareness on the importance of registering each and every child.